ANDERS MAGE PAGE 2.0

Editor's Note: White Wolf Game Studio released a tarot deck with original art to go alongside Mage.

The lizard seen in the Page, Knight and King of Questing is probably a salamander, associated with fire.

The butterfly in the lap of the King of Dynamism is, of course, the chaos butterfly.

The werewolf and dragon on Strength has created a lake of mud by their struggle. The inner struggle that the card represents can also be destructive.

The face in the background of Five of Pattern is the Matriarch of MECHA.

The Beast (Knight of Primordialism) also corresponds to Baphomet, the ever changing manifestation of the Life Force (note its association with tantra).

The red flag on the Sun card could imply the ideals of socialism, that fit in with the meaning of the card: collaboration, teamwork, cooperation, organization and shared vision.

It is interesting to note that Gaia is clothed in a scarf that turns into a dragon-snake. In the Rider-Waite deck she is clothed in a scarf, while in the Toth deck she stands on a snake. Could this be a representation of the Wyrm? Jimmy McKinney pointed out that she holds the wand of order (Weaver) and the wand of chaos (Wyld), and that her expression may be both pain, disgust, indifference or rapture.

The four beings around her are the four cherubim, originally a Babylonian symbol later adopted by Christianity: the eagle is Shamash or the Sun (Water); the angel is Sin or the Moon (Air); the lion is Mergal or Mars (Fire); and the ox is Mingirsu or Saturn (Earth). They also appear on The Wheel of Fortune. [Andrea Bentini]

The commentary for the justice card talks about the "double edged sword of justice". The figure in the illustration is an Akashic holding a Katana. Katanas only have one edge (sound of head hitting wall repeatedly). [Shaun Murrant]

Death is interesting. The rose on the curtain of mystery is a symbol of silence (and, of course, Vampire). On the table in front of the two people stands the pieces of chess, signifying vampiric society or the famous "chessgame against death". The ocean of blood behind the curtain is both primordial and a symbol of life and the subconscious; in it the ego will dissolve.

The Mage has already been analyzed but here is a small reiteration: the Coke can represents the chalice of water, the key fire and the wand, the pistol is air and the dagger and the credit cards an excellent symbol of earth. Beneath the table there is a tangle of wires, this is the subconscious and the secret connections of the world. The HUD display Dante wears shows that although the Mage is pure Will, he doesn't see reality as it is but as he wants to see it.

The woman in the blood (the blood of Gaia or the blood spilling from the Klaives?) seems to make the sign for "Perdo Ignem", I Destroy Fire. Above her the moon goddess is surrounded by five yuds (the Hebrew letter 'I'), symbolizing fire. Maybe this corresponds to a denial of sexuality or passion that is defated by the urges of the subconscious, or perhaps the way out of the swamp (this card is ambivalent, just as the moon).

The rose seems to be a general symbol for mystery and secrets (Death, Ace of Questing, King of Dynamism, Luna and others) while the Lily seems to represent the Yin principle (see especially the lovers, where the burning tree is yang and Queen of Dynamism who appears to be crowned by them). Sometimes the rose is Yang (like in Ace of Questing), but this seems to vary quite a bit. Sunflowers, of course, represent the solar principle, the quest for Ascension and the Avatar. Other flowers (as in four of Questing and six of Primordialism) seems to represent material pleasures, vices and ideas.

The Empress is crowned by twelve stars, the same crown as the Whore of Babylon in the Book of Revelations. She represents the deep secret of sexual magick (cmp. Babalon in Crowleys writings and his interpretation of Strength, Lust).

Unlike the conventional fool who is stepping into an abyss, the Fool in this deck seems to have stepped up on the skycraper instead, together with the warning/ironic imp (a Chimera?).

The graffiti on the wall beside the Hermit reads: 688 Noct[urne?], what looks like part of the Hollow One symbol and "Mary Lou, Bitch Queen". [Tommy Sääf]

The Hermit is traditionally linked to Saturn and time in the Tarot, and he held an hourglass. This card may be linked to time and its flow, since the Hollow Ones are the newest Tradition. The figure is taking the duty of the street lamp, but instead of lightning the street he direct the light of the torch upward... Where? [Andrea Bentini]

On the left side of Temperance there is a drawing of a road leading between two mountains. This could be the same scene as in 8 of Primordialism [Tommy Sääf].

Is he a guardian of the door or a guide? [Andrea Bentini]

These cards give the following attributions of the Traditions: Virtual Adepts Mercury, Dreamspeakers the Moon, Verbena Venus, Hollow Ones Virgo, Euthanatos Jupiter (!), Cult of Ecstasy Gemini, Celestial Chorus Taurus, Akashic Brotherhood Libra, Order of Hermes Aries and Sons of Ether Cancer. The Garou correspond to Mars, the Kindred to Scorpio, the Wraiths to Capricorn and the Changelings to Aether.

The symbols of the Spheres are often cleverly woven into the images. My favorites are two, six, eight and the page of Questing, and nine of Primordialism.